Vermont Lady Beetle Atlas Progress Report
I must start this by saying - you are all incredible naturalists. Over the last three years, community naturalist efforts to document Vermont's current lady beetle fauna has yielded 2,707 research grade observations of 27 lady beetle species. We recently finished a report, documenting Atlas findings thus far. Here are some of the highlights:
Species Rediscoveries:
Five species have been rediscovered:
- Bigeminate Sigil Lady Beetle (Hyperaspis bigeminata) – 2019
- Four-spotted Spurleg Lady Beetle (Brachiacantha quadripunctata) – 2020
- Octavia Lady Beetle (Hyperaspis octavia) – recorded for only the second time in Vermont in 2020
- Ten-spotted Spurleg Lady Beetle (Brachiacantha decempustulata) – 2021
- Hudsonian Lady Beetle (Mulsantina hudsonica) – 2021.
New Species Discoveries
In 2021, a lady beetle species, native to the eastern United States, was discovered in Vermont for the first time. During a bioblitz in Underhill, Vermont, VAL naturalist Nathaniel Sharp swung his net at a mysterious, small beetle and quickly realized he has captured someone interesting. After close examination in his home office, VAL director Kent McFarland had a tentative identification - a Disk-marked Lady Beetle (Hyperaspis disconotata). This ID was quickly confirmed, and Vermont's number of recorded native species increased by one.
Non-native Species
Sadly, not all of our findings have been positive. Given the potential correlation between the introduction of non-native lady beetle species and the decline of native species, we have been monitoring the records of non-native species closely. Five non-native lady beetle species have been reported to iNaturalist since the start of the Atlas in 2019—Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis), Fourteen-spotted Lady Beetle (Propylea quatuordecimpunctata), Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata), Variegated Lady Beetle (Hippodamia variegata), and Mexican Bean Beetle (Epilachna varivestis). In total, there were 1971 observations of these five species, which is 73 percent of the total lady beetle observations uploaded to iNaturalist from 2019 to 2021. We will continue monitoring these records over the coming field seasons to better understand these dynamics.
If you are interested in learning more, you can read our full report here.
Comments
Congratulations to all involved in the new species discovery, the old species re-discoveries, and all the data collection. Well done!
Very exciting that these species have been discovered and rediscovered!!
I am longing to observe a native species. Perhaps I need to more actively search for them, equipped with a net and a sheet... (thanks for the tips about how to do that)
When I have posted observations of the non-native Asian, I have often wondered if it was helpful in any way, since we all know how common they are. But I can see that there is merit in knowing just how prevalent. That they comprise 73% of observations is astonishing!
I'll keep posting, knowing there is value in that. (Besides, they're just so darn cute...)
Thank you @tsn! I plan to lead several bioblitz days this summer, @danly and will post about them in this project - that should help with honing search methods and seeing more native species!
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